Estevao Willian predicts Ballon d'Or battle with Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono and compares his style to Lionel Messi amid 'Messinho' nickname

The Brazilian wonderkid was signed by Chelsea in 2024 for a deal worth a €34 million (£30m/$40m) fee plus €23m (£20m/$27m) in bonuses and will join up with his new side this summer. The 18-year-old is excited by the developments in his career and hopes to make it to the big stage by winning the Ballon d'Or in the future.

Willian is one of the most exciting talents coming out of Brazil this summer. The teenager has already amassed 26 goals and provided 15 assists in 82 games for Palmeiras. However, he is just one of several players of his age group tipped to go on to achieve great things, with Barcelona and Spain star Yamal already being backed to win this year's Ballon d'Or, while Mastantuono has lots of potential as he prepares to begin his adventure with Real Madrid. Estevao, who has been nicknamed 'Messinho' due to his playing style, hopes to share the podium with the pair at the Ballon d'Or years down the line.

Speaking to AS, Willian shared his thoughts on young talents like himself, stating: "[Yamal] is a fantastic young man, a great player who had an incredible season. I followed him closely in the Champions League, and I was really rooting for him and Raphinha, especially. Mastantuo is also a great player who's been growing a lot. I've also followed his games since he's been playing in South America. He has incredible potential."

Asked about the possibility of them battling for the Ballon d'Or, Willian said: "I sincerely hope so. We're all the same age, and it would be incredible and very interesting to find ourselves in that situation."

Willian further discussed his playing style, stating: "I see myself more as having a style similar to Messi's, a person who just wants to play football and have a family, which is the most important thing to me."

Palmeiras topped their Club World Cup group with five points and won their knockout game against Botafogo. The Brazilian club are set to face Chelsea in the quarter-final on July 5 and Estevao will hope to impress against his new team.